Track of the Day: Robert John Ardiff - ‘September Road’

Leading up to his third solo album release, Irish singer-songwriter Robert John Ardiff’s hotly released single ‘September Road’ is an alt-folk experiment gone right.

‘Don't play me for a fool, darling, don't shovel the wound. I'll take you at face value when you stand your ground,’ John Ardiff croons on the track, as he reaches out to his listener with an evocative tale of jealousy. Intricate guitar lines complement a haunting warped sound quality. The addition of harmonica and trumpet fill in the empty space and add a complex depth to the track, and is a testament to the artist’s experimental tenacity.

John Ardiff describes his forthcoming album Once I Was as “a series of experimental indie folk recordings which rely in parts on samples and field recordings to complement the song's themes.”

Of ‘September Road,’ he shares that the single “is representative of this approach, with the bells of Christchurch Cathedral and sampled/warped trumpet recordings which I made of a friend in Dole, France peppering the melody…trying to pull the listener into this tale about how jealousy can lead us to invent stories which often border on the ridiculous.”

Making his start as a member of the Choice Prize-nominated band Come On Live Long, Robert John Ardiff has since embarked on a dazzling solo venture. With over 15 million streams on Spotify, the Irish singer-songwriter has toured extensively around Ireland and through Europe, The UK and The U.S.

In 2019, John Ardiff stunned eager fans with his solo track ‘Somebody To Love,’ memorably performed during an intimate Y&E series for Hot Press back in 2021. Once I was will emerge as the artist’s third solo album, following 2021’s The Corridors of Love and his 2018 debut, Between The Bed and Room.

Due for release on October 20, Once I Was was recorded in various locations around Ireland and mixed over a weekend in Black Mountain Studios. Robert John Ardiff will also be featured on the soundtrack of the forthcoming John Carney film Flora and Son, starring Eve Hewson and Joseph Gordon Levitt, out at the end of this month.

John Ardiff’s final album single release ‘September Road’ was recorded in Yellow Door Studios in Dublin and in Newcastle, Co. Dublin. The track was mixed by James Eager (The Scratch, The Cope, James Vincent McMorrow) and features Neil Murray on Harmonica, with Jean Baptiste Boute on Trumpet/Sample. It was mastered by Ivan Jackman.

Listen to Robert John Ardiff’s newest single ‘September Road’ below!